feature stories
A place where everything is ‘A-OK’
Oct 1, 2009 4:38 PM
Queens school honors heroes — and creates them with Acts of Kindness system
Students on the Real Heroes Committee, with some real adult heroes behind them; each group inspires the other.
What would our world be like if everyone tried to do a random act of kindness every day?
It would be a very different place than the world we know — but it might be a lot like PS/IS 266, located in green, leafy Bellerose, Queens, and which staged a “Real Heroes Assembly” on Sept. 18.
The assembly was called to honor two 9/11 heroes and a surprise, closer-to-home hero, and to induct them into the school’s Real Heroes Hall of Fame.
But even before the morning assembly began, it was apparent that this is a school that does more than just honor heroes; it creates them, by instilling a culture of kindness and service to others.
“We honor ‘A-OKs’ which are random Acts of Kindness,” said teacher Robin Beinhorn, who has taught at the school for all seven years that it has been open. “We try to create a positive environment where children respect each other.”
Theirs is a character-education-driven school, where “every month the whole (K-8) school reads a book and discusses the value associated with that book,” Beinhorn said.
“And the older grades have a buddy class with the younger grades,” added teacher Elyssa Gallagher, who has also been with the school since its founding. “It’s really incorporated into every day and week of school,” she said.
Principal Nicole Scott presents an award to founding principal Kenneth Morris, who established the A-OK culture at their school which is still going strong. Scott, who was an assistant principal at the school prior to becoming principal, said she learned from the best. “It was always about building a school with collaboration between students, parents and staff members,” she said.
The school has a Real Heroes Committee, which, as 7th-grader and member Rachel Burman explains, meets to plan activities that help the community. “We worked with senior citizens, raised money for charities, and had a luncheon to celebrate people and thank them,” she said.
Students raised thousands of dollars last year for children with cancer, Ronald McDonald House, the YMCA and other good causes. This year they will also be raising money for cobblestones that will be part of the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero.
Students must be nominated to be on the committee (for doing their own A-OKs), creating a cycle of thoughtful actions that reverberate throughout the school community.
“Who is a real hero? Someone who goes beyond the everyday to make someone else’s life special,” teacher Richard Rampartap, who is a point person for the Real Heroes committee, told the gathered assembly of students.
He said that since this year marks the eighth anniversary of 9/11, “this is an opportunity to renew our dedication, patriotism and tolerance.”
Rampartap introduced the day’s honorees: Ada Rosario Dolch, who was the principal of a school in the shadow of the World Trade Center towers on 9/11 and ensured that all 600 students made it to safety; Ron Vega, an architect and construction manager who aided in the 9/11 recovery at Ground Zero; and PS/IS 266’s founding (and now retired) principal, Kenneth Morris, who set up the A-OK value system in the school, which is still going strong.
Students watched “The Spirit of Volunteerism,” a film which featured Dolch, Vega and others who were affected by 9/11 and are now volunteering to “pay it forward.”
Jeff Parness tells students about this flag, which was stitched back together by volunteers after being damaged by a tornado that decimated a Boy Scouts camp in Iowa, killing three scouts. Parness created the www.NewYorkSaysThankYou.org organization, which takes volunteers across the country to help out in all kinds of national disasters on the Sept. 11 anniversary.
Real hero Ada Rosario Dolch (speaking) was doubly impacted by 9/11. As a principal of a school in the shadow of the twin towers, she oversaw the evacuation of 600 students to safety; also, her sister was killed on 9/11, and she helped build a school in Afghanistan to honor her memory. Real hero Ron Vega worked on the Ground Zero cleanup and recovery and is now working with the 9/11 Museum. “Let’s take the random out and be kind to one another whenever we can,” he told the assembly.
